We live as one
by CandyPsychologist
Summary: Who knew that your true love's heart beat matched your own?
1. Chapter 1

I was slammed against the locker and looked up to see a tall burly man looming over my week body.

" Faggots don't deserve to live on the same planet as us." he snickered at his friend who nodded avoiding my eye contact.

My chest burned with frustration as I grinned spitting back.

" Why would we want to live with people like you any way?"

He gripped the hair on my head and kicked my stomach till I was coughing on my own saliva.

" How is this helping you?" , I chocked out loudly.

He punched the locker leaving a large dent next to my head and spat in my face dropping me to the floor.

I hugged my knees closely breathing heavily.

This was the treatment I was used to getting in fact I barely even got noticed.

The men greeted a blond boy who had his book back on one of his shoulders, Alfred.

He waited till they went there own way and knelt down by my bruised leg. He barely spoke but lifted my head to whip away the blood smeared on my upper lip.

" Be careful." he said patting my shoulder.

I looked away unsure if he was being kind or taking pity. He waited for me to respond but when no answer came back he stood and sighed.

Taking notice of a girl he strolled over casually acting surprised when she said his name.

It was torture seeing him with another girl and it had been like this since sixth grade. That was the year I figured out that I not only thought of Alfred as a friend.

He had found out that I thought of boys this way in later high school and our friendship broke apart. But my feelings never did.

I picked up my books and drawing pad from off of the floor and placed them into my bag.

A pink letter laid under my feet and I brushed away the foot print smoothing out some creases. On it was delicately written Alfred.

I walked to school treading through the fog ignoring the fact that it was too early to go into the building.

My hand fitted around the brass door and pushed it open.

Slipping through out rows of lockers I stopped at an tall cream locker that reeked of cologne and shoved the letter through one of the vents.

" Arthur, what are you doing here so early?"

I turned around to face the cubby cheeks of our principle.

She was disheveled, her hair out of place, her glasses crooked, and her eyes tired.

" I just came early to finish some make up work."

Raising an eye brow she came closer.

I bit my lip sucking in all of my breath.

" You will tell no one about this." she motioned to how messy she looked.

I exhaled.

" Of course not." looks like teacher even had secrets.

She sent me to the office telling me to go and make up what I had to but stopped me suddenly.

" There is a cot in the nurses office."

I smiled and thanked her and she rolled her eyes pointing toward the office.

When I awoke the nurse looked at me worried.

" You have slept for over half of the day Mr. Kirkland."

I swore under my breath and sprinted down the hall avoiding her questions.

I grabbed my binder for English and nervously creaked open the door knob.

" Your late." he glowered at me drawing laughter toward the scene.

Like it wasn't obvious.

I sat in the seat beside Alfred and looked up to see if he was laughing. He only seemed concerned and looked down quickly breaking our stare.

I opened my locker snatching my bag out. Today was not a day worth remembering.

Alfred was surrounded by some football players who all waited around his locker. He was going to practice where he would find some cheerleader who he would dump within a day.

They noticed me staring and began shouting.

" Hey stop checking us out fag."

I slammed my locker close and bolted away.

I stopped running when I noticed the stop light.

I managed to get my self lost in the city. Fortnightly there was a map on the other side.

When it blinked the glowing walking person the crowd around me shifted walking at as hesitant pace.

Ready to follow I stopped when I heard my cell phone beep.

" hello?"

" Arthur! Thank goodness its you. Listen we can't talk long but I wanted to tell you that I read your letter."

My faced flushed and my stomached nervously twisted.

The phone line was filled with his breathing.

" you did?" I shuddered out.

People were running faster in front of me screaming. I turned around to see a truck screeching its breaks at the sight of me.

" I just wanted to tell you that-" he was cut off by my blood chilling scream as I dropped the phone.

The phone line went dead.

I had always thought that seconds were just small unimportant things that people forgot frequently. It turns out that one second changed my life. If only I had more seconds I could hear his reply.

* * *

I always had kept an optimistic attitude hiding a pain I felt in my chest every time I moved or breathed. It was constantly straining to beat. My doctor was the only one who new about it.

" Good news a new heart came in a couple of days ago."

This would have been great news if I had a clear mind to think about it.

" Alfred, are you alright you seem a bit ," he hesitated searching for the right word, " down."

Sighing loudly I shook my head yes, another lie.

I honestly hurled on my dads new Italian shoes the first time they said it, Arthur had died. Although it was never completely understood why it happened it still affected me. I stopped eating and hardly talked to anyone. They all said I wasn't myself and I didn't feel like it.

I walked home with a snail's pace. I was in no hurry to tell my parents that I have been hiding the fact that I was going to get heart surgery.

When I reached the door my mom bolted toward me her long nails pressing against my back forcing me into an embrace.

"Where have you been! We were so worried!"

I pulled away and looked down.

" That's what I needed to tell you."

They paused staring at me expectantly as any parent would. There eyes so hopeful it made my heart squeeze.

I told them everything they needed to know making sure that they were comfortable with the new change.

My dad shook his head and quietly moved back to the muted TV. Within seconds the volume flickered back to life.

" Alfie." was all my mom said giving me a heartbroken look before she went back the kitchen consuming her self into cooking.

I went back to my room and sat on the edge of my bed closing my eyes for a brief moment trying to block out the facts of life.

* * *

Beeping sounds filled the room as the nurse pricked me with a needle.

" Remember not to jerk around in your sleep it may mess up the operation."

I nodded and begin counting the fluffy white specs that were floating around my head.

99

98

97

96

95

94

93

92...

9..1

9-

* * *

" Alfred." a voice called out to me sounding so familiar it haunted my ears.

I looked around, everything was white and in the distance a little gray shadow appeared.

" Alfred." it called out again lingering on every letter as if it didn't want to end saying my name.

I moved closer trying to get a better look but they only moved back.

" Who are you? " I said in a raspy whisper.

They moved away.

"Who are you!" I screamed suddenly anxious at the thought of being alone.

It paused and whispered softly, " we live as one."

" What?"

It seemed to smile and repeated its self, " we now live as one."


	2. Chapter 2

Buzzing was the first thing I heard as I awoke. My parents leaned against one another fast asleep in small chairs.

The more I looked the more I wanted to forget it all. Wires lead up to my arms sending in a clear liquid to my body. A v shaped scar was left from the surgery.

I put a hand to my heart to feel it beat lightly. As it did I heard the voice in my dream break the silence whispering, "we live as one."

A peppy young nurse entered the room tossing a menu onto my stomach and sitting close to my face.

"Well? Do you want breakfast or not?"

I shook my head, " Of course I don't!"

My parent's eyes snapped open.

" Honey?", my mom said concerned, "You feeling ok?"

She like me new that I loved to eat for she had cooked most of the meals I had devoured.

" I'm fine but I am rather craving some tea." Since when did I start liking tea?

I began speaking like an upperclassmen and found my self sitting up a little straighter every time someone came my way. For hours I would lay thinking about why this personality was suddenly forming. Was I mocking Arthur?

Every time I went to sleep the same haunting voice whispered, " we live as one." No matter how many times I called out to the source they just kept saying that same fraise repeatedly. This time though I picked up something on his voice, an accent.

" Hi, I'm Matt and I'm hear to tell you about heart surgery."

Not another one of these kids. There job was to come in to people who have had some kind of metical experience that they shared and try to make a connecting with them. All they had ever done was bore me.

" When I first had my old heart it was hard to breath. But when I got it replaced it began to get easier and in some ways harder. The person who donated their heart to me was a very shy athletic man who spent his free time playing hockey. My heart not only changed but my personality did to."

I couldn't breath. His words stumbled together in my brain twisting the room around in a dizzying motion.

" Matt, do you know who my donor is?"

He paled looking down at his feet. " I'm not allowed to say."

I handed out a pen and a napkin. " Then don't."

The door shut with a clink behind him. I sat there holding onto my donor's name anxiously checking to see if anyone was around. When my surroundings stayed still I carefully unfolded the napkin to see his hand writing scribble out the name. My heart stopped and my eyes widened for on it was the name, Arthur Kirkland.


	3. Chapter 3

Every word laid its self cleanly into what seemed to be a sympathetic delusional scribble on what was suppose to be a thank you letter to Arthur's parents. Matt had been back around checking to see if I was alright after he told me about my heart donor.

"Matt be honest does this sound like an a winning bitch?"

Snorting he looked down nodding handing me some tea, " Little bit."

Crinkling up the paper I through it at the trash instead hitting it off of my mom's head.

Matt took one look toward my mom and he immediately gripped his arm as an comfort zone speeding out of the room before she had time to ask why he was here.

" Alfred, we need to talk."

Her voice was stern and frightening, she had figured something out.

As soon as she held up a pastel pink envelope I felt my heart beat quickly.

" Alfred, did you have a relationship with this boy?"

" What does it matter."

" It does matter! Are you gay or not! You bring home girls and then this boy pops up out of nowhere!"

She waved the letter in the air.

" So what you should be happy for me!" I felt my face getting hot

She looked at me sternly, " No Alfred, I'm not."

My heart stopped beating and my tea clattered to the ground.

In my head I could hear the familiar words pierce into my head, " We live as one."

Judging by my mom's face I could tell I didn't look good. Her hand fled to her mouth as she called out the doctor's name.

* * *

All I could see was a dense fog.

" Ello?" looks like I was picking up yet again another Arthur trait.

" We live as one."

" Who is there?"

Shuffling through the fog I ran into a frail boy with overpowering green eyes.

" Arthur, I thought you were dead."

He looked down unhappy.

" I'm sorry Arthur, I wanted to tell you but it was to late."

He shook his head and motioned toward the ground. In the fog showed formations of the hospital room I was lying there bundled in more wires then before. Matt was asleep on a chair leaning over on my nightstand for better comfort. My father was drooping onto his seat waking him self every time his eyes closed. My mom however held my hand reading Arthur's letter over.

My teeth gritted.

"How could she that's private!"

Arthur smiled and shook his head and I could hear his words, " Such a child."

I looked at him, " Can I stay with you?"

He hesitated and shook his head no pointing to my chest.

" We live as one."

* * *

I had a heart spasm.

" The doctor said in a few weeks I would be able to begin moving normally." I reported to Matt who had just listened to a full out sob from my mom.

" That's good."

Something was bothering him. He was sitting halfway in his chair and shifting uncomfortably.

" Matt, what did you do?"

He paled. " I sent the letter."

Raising one eyebrow in suspicion I said, " The one that I through away?"

He nodded. " I got a response."


End file.
